Mass migrations of Armenians were caused by various disasters that
frequently affected their motherland. In the 5th century the Byzantine
rulers resettled Armenians in Macedonia – this was the beginning of the
Armenian diaspora in the Balkans. The origins of the Armenian community
in Romania (and in neighbouring regions) were connected with a
particularly gloomy series of events that affected Armenia: the fall of
the Bagratuni kingdom in 1045, the conquest of Ani by Seljuk Turks led
by Arp Arslan in 1064 (leading to an exodus towards Cilicia, Crimea and
Poland), the Tartar invasion of 1239, another Tartar-caused exodus in
1299, the earthquake and famine of 1319, the Mongol invasion in 1342.
Subsequent events, such as the Turkish-Persian wars at the beginning of
the 17th century, the massacres in 1895 or the genocide in 1915 brought
new waves of Armenian refugees to various countries in Europe, one of
them being Romania.

The first traces of an Armenian
presence in Romania are more than a
thousand years old. An inscription on a tombstone in Cetatea Alba is
dated 416 according to the Armenian calendar – that is, 967 AD. Another
religious inscription dates from 1174. Cilician coins from the 12th
century were also discovered in the same city, proving the existence of
trade relations between the two regions.

The settlement of Armenians in Moldavia thus took place before the
actual foundation of the principality in 1352. Armenians came to
Moldavia from the north and east, from Crimea, Galicia and Podolia,
regions with significant Armenian population and active Armenian trade
centers. The movement of Armenians took place along trade routes – such
as the ‘Tartar route’ or the ‘Moldavian route’. Indeed, for a long
time, Moldavian trade was dominated by Armenians, and incoming
Armenians played a crucial role in the development of Moldavian towns.
The early refugees from Armenia belonged the upper classes –
aristocrats, merchants, craftsmen – and they used their skills and
knowledge of a wide range of Oriental and European languages to develop
their trade networks.

Cetatea
Alba

The greatest Romanian historian, Nicolae Iorga,
stated in Choses d’art arméniennes en Roumanie (1935) (quotation
taken from Sergiu Selian – Historical Sketch of the Armenian Community
in Romania) that “Since the principality of Moldavia was actually
created by way of trade, those who followed this way became
participants in the creation of the national state of Moldavia.
Therefore Armenians are in a way the parents of Moldavia.”

The formation of Armenian communities in Moldavia may have started
as early as the 11th century, but we only have solid documentary
evidence from the 14th century. The present Armenian church in Cetatea
Alba most probably dates from the beginning of the century. In 1421, a
French traveller representing king Henry V of England, Guillebert de
Lannoy, noted that the city was inhabited by Italians, Romanians and
Armenians: “Et vins à une ville fermée et port sur
laditte Mer Maioure, nommée Mancastre ou Bellegard, où il
habite Genevois, Wallackes et Hermins…” (Neagu Djuvara). The town had
previously been a Genoese trade center – Italian and Armenian merchants
were often associates in the regions around the Black Sea. The
importance and power of Cetatea Alba is proved by the fact that it was
able to issue its own coins and even wage its own local wars. There
also was a large Armenian community – with its own church, now lost –
in the other Moldavian port, Chilia.

In the northern part of
Moldavia, along the ‘Moldavian route’
connecting Chilia and Cetatea Alba with the great city (and Armenian
center) of Lemberg/Lwow/Lviv/Lvov, Armenians were among the founders or
early settlers of several towns. These Armenians had close connections
with their fellow nationals in the neighbouring regions that had
recently come under Polish and Lithuanian sovereignty.

In 1341, the Armenians in Roman purchased a (wooden) church
from the
local Saxons. The old church in Botosani was built in 1350; Nicolae
Iorga – who was born in Botosani – said that the town would have
remained a village without the Armenian contribution to its
development. The old church in Iasi – also dedicated to St Mary – was
built in 1395 by the priest Hagop and the haji Markar. The epigraph is
actually the earliest ‘document’ connected with the city. The town of
Siret, the capital of Moldavia in the 1370s, had two Armenian churches
that disappeared in the Middle Ages. The following capital, Suceava
(1390 – 1564) became the main center of Armenians in Moldavia. It
already had an Armenian church in 1389.

Armenian
church in Lviv

In 1365, the Armenian churches in Moldavia were included in the
jurisdiction of the Armenian bishopric of Lemberg, established in 1363.
This comes to confirm the venerable age of several Armenian churches in
the principality. This in turn proves the existence of large and
prosperous Armenian communities in Moldavian towns from a very early
period.

The reign of Alexander the Good (1400-1432) witnessed an increase in
the Armenian population in Moldavia. On 30 July 1401 Alexander
appointed Ohanes as the bishop of Armenians in Moldavia. (This was
several months before the final establishment of the Romanian Orthodox
hierarchy!) In a charter dated 8 October 1407, prince Alexander invited
Armenian merchants from Poland to settle in Moldavia, granting them
exemptions of taxes and customs duties. 700 Armenian families settled
in Suceava, while others settled in Siret and Cernauti (the latter was
only a village when Armenians arrived; the Armenians were the actual
founders of the town).

The
monastery of Zamca/Sourp Oxan, in Suceava, the residence of Armenian
bishops. First mentioned in 1415.

3,000 more Armenian families
came in 1418 and
settled in seven Moldavian towns: Suceava, Hotin, Botosani, Vaslui,
Galati, Iasi, Dorohoi. Following the Polish model, Armenians were given
special privileges. One of them were the tax reductions and tax
exemptions mentioned above. Conflicts between Armenians were tried by
Armenian judges (following the code of Mkhitar Gosh), and conflicts
between Armenians and non-Armenians could only be tried by the prince
and his council. Land owned by Armenians was given special protection
against any encroachments.

About 10000 Armenians settled in Moldavia during the reign of
Stephen the Great (1457 – 1504). In 1475, after the Turkish conquest of
Caffa, Stephen offered asylum to Armenian refugees and settled them in
Suceava, Iasi, Botosani, Roman and Focsani. Just like his predecessors,
he also gave special privileges to Armenian merchants from Lemberg. It
also seems that Stephen had special units of Armenian cavalry in his
army. The prosperous state of the Moldavian economy during Stephen’s
reign stimulated the development of Armenian communities. The main
Moldavian export was cattle – and the cattle trade was an Armenian
quasi-monopoly. Armenians bought – and later even bred – cattle in
Moldavia and sold it in Poland and Germany. They also exported wheat,
wax, sheep, horses, hides and brought spices, lace, weapons from the
East and Western Europe. Armenians had their own guilds and were
involved in the administration of Moldavian towns.

The Armenian Church in Iasi (1395)

In 1484, the Turks conquered the
ports of Cetatea Alba and Chilia
and Stephen was unable to take them back. Armenians in Cetatea Alba
were deported to Constantinople. The Black Sea became a ‘Turkish lake’
and Armenian trade was partly blocked. However, trade between Moldavia
and Central and Northern Europe went on – and Armenians played a major
role in it. Further disruption was brought by the Polish invasion in
northern Moldavia and by subsequent Moldavian retaliation towards the
end of Stephen’s reign. Armenians from Suceava fled to Transylvania and
Galicia.

The life of Armenian communities continued largely unchanged during
the first half of the 16th century. Armenians continued to enjoy
significant wealth and political security. The Armenian Petru Vartic,
Peter Rares’s translator, became the commander of the Moldavian army
and the fortress of Suceava. Petru Vartic’s son, Iurasco Varticovici,
was the postelnic (chamberlain) of prince Iancu the Saxon. The
monastery of Hagigadar, near Suceava, was built in 1512, during the
reign of Bogdan III, Stephen’s son.

The
monastery of Hagigadar (1512)

The life of Armenian communities continued largely unchanged during
the first half of the 16th century. Armenians continued to enjoy
significant wealth and political security. The Armenian Petru Vartic,
Peter Rares’s translator, became the commander of the Moldavian army
and the fortress of Suceava. Petru Vartic’s son, Iurasco Varticovici,
was the postelnic (chamberlain) of prince Iancu the Saxon. The
monastery of Hagigadar, near Suceava, was built in 1512, during the
reign of Bogdan III, Stephen’s son.

In 1538, during the reign of Peter Rares, a great Turkish invasion
led to the destruction of a large part of Suceava. More than a decade
later, Peter’s son and heir, Ilias, decided to convert to Islam. In
order to restore faith in his family and prove his ‘Orthodoxy’, Ilias’s
brother, the new prince Stephen Rares, tried to forcibly convert
Armenians by a decree issued on 16 August 1551. Armenian churches in
Hotin, Siret, Iasi, Vaslui, Botosani, Roman, Suceava were destroyed or
damaged. Stephen was assassinated a year later by Moldavian noblemen
tired of his cruelty, greed and immorality. Persecutions ceased and
Armenian churches were repaired.

A new wave of persecutions occurred during the nine-month reign of
Stephen Tomsa (1563), when Armenians were accused of having supported
the deposed prince Despot. Things came back to normal after Stephen’s
assassination. During the following century, however, Armenians decided
to keep a low profile in the all-too-dangerous world of Moldavian
politics.

In 1572, John, the son of the Armenian Serpega, became prince of
Moldavia. An enemy of the higher nobility and popular with the
peasants, John fought valiantly against the Turks but was betrayed by a
group of noblemen and executed in 1574. During the following period of
political instability, two of John’s half-brothers, Garabet Ioan
Potcoava and Alexander Serpega, briefly captured the Moldavian throne
in 1577 and 1578. The first is the main character in Mihail Sadoveanu’s
novel Nicoara Potcoava. Alexander’s son, Petru Cazacul (Peter the
Cossack), also reigned for a few months in 1592. His main advisor was
the Armenian Ovac Matisovici. Two other members of the Serpega family,
Constantin and Lazar, unsuccessfully claimed the throne in 1578 and
1591.

Armenians also settled in Transylvania from a very early period –
perhaps even the 11th century. Migrating Hungarians brought two groups
of Armenians into Pannonia, and some of them may have got to
Transylvania. Hungarian chroniclers also mention that Armenians were
among the various nations colonized by Duke Geza and King Stephen
(“Bohemi, Poloni, Graeci, Hispani, Hismaelitae, Bessi, Armeni etc.”).
Other Armenians may have come from Poland and the Balkans. During the
reigns of Andras II and Bela IV Armenians had their own monasteries and
estates in Transylvania (Monasterium Armenorum, Terra Armenorum). In
1243, king Bela IV confirms their privileges. In 1281, king Ladislas IV
donates Armenian properties to the Augustine friars – probably as a
result of the decrease in the number of Armenians. In 1343 we have
mention of “Martinus episcopus Armenorum de Tolmachy”. In 1399
Armenians are listed among the non-Catholic inhabitants of Brasov,
together with Greeks, Romanians and Bulgarians. There was an Armenian
priest in Sibiu in 1447. Armenians are also mentioned in Bistrita in
the 16th century. Thus there was a continual Armenian presence in
Transylvania, although a strong and stable community was only
established during the 17th century.

Armenians came to Wallachia at a later date, perhaps towards the end of
the 14th century. Between 1400 and 1435 we have mentions of Armenian
communities in Bucharest, Targoviste, Pitesti, Craiova and Giurgiu. The
fall of Constantinople in 1453, the conquest of Crimea in 1475 and
other events led to the increase of the number of Armenians in the
area. There used to be an Armenian church in the old Wallachian capital
of Targoviste, an in 1581 an Armenian church was built in Bucharest.
Prince Michael the Brave (1593 – 1601) had the Armenian Peter
Grigorovici as his main ambassador. Peter’s brother, Joseph, was an
envoy of the Austrian emperor in Persia in 1609.

The wars between Turkey and Persia at the beginning of the 17th
century led to a massive emigration of Armenian population. Armenian
communities in Romania were ‘rejuvenated’ as a result of this exodus.
Later on Armenians opposed to the Uniation also came to Moldavia from
Poland. In Moldavia, new churches were built in Suceava (St Simon),
Botosani (Holy Trinity), Iasi (St Gregory the Enlightener), Galati. The
old churches in Iasi and Roman got their present form during this
century. Catholic and Apostolic Armenians built the church of Baratia
in Bucharest in 1629. More Armenians would come to Wallachia from
Bulgaria in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.

Thus ever since the 14th century Armenians were an important element
in the life of the Romanian principalities. Above all in Moldavia,
Armenians played a crucial part in the development of trade, crafts and
urban life. They had their own guilds, their own courts, their schools,
even their own mayors. And, in good Armenian tradition, they built an
impressive number of churches. Armenians shared the ups and downs of
the agitated history of the area, and came to be regarded among the
country’s ‘founding fathers’. At the same time, unfortunate events
affecting Armenia and other regions inhabited by Armenians sent wave
after wave of Armenians to the area, bringing ‘fresh blood’ to the old
communities. At the beginning of the 18th century, the prince and
scholar Demetrius Cantemir, author of the classic Descriptio Moldaviae
(The Description of Moldavia) listed Armenians first in his list of
non-Romanian inhabitants of the principality. Armenian churches, he
says, are just as large and decorated as those of Romanians, and
Armenians enjoy full religious freedom.

The initial Armenian church in Botosani – dedicated to St Mary – was
built, as we have already seen, in 1350. The position of the church and
the ‘Armenian Quarter’ of the town – in the very heart of Botosani –
prove the venerable age of the Armenian community. Armenians played a
major part in the development of the town. Indeed, the town had two
‘mayors’ (soltuz, Schultheiss) – one of the Romanian, the other
Armenian. Armenians were also represented in the city council – half of
it at the beginning, then a share equivalent to their share in the
overall population of the town. Armenians also had their own guilds and
were actively involved in the economic, social and cultural life of the
place.

The main church was repaired after the damages of 1551 (the
main
elements of the present building seem to date from the 16th century);
an exonarthex was added in 1783, and a sacristy was added during the
renovation of 1826. The bell tower built in 1816 was also used as an
observation point by the city guards.

The second Armenian church in Botosani – dedicated to the
Trinity –
was built in 1717, close to the main church of St Mary. It replaced a
wooden church dedicated to St Oxen (Auxentius), built in 1560. It was
also extended in 1832. A chapel dedicated to the Annunciation was built
by Ana Toros (who dedicated it to the memory of her husband, Avedik von
Pruncul) in the Armenian graveyard. The graveyard in Botosani, like its
counterparts in Suceava and Iasi, has a very valuable collection of old
monuments.

Armenians
in Botosani

The Armenian church in Iasi – also dedicated to St Mary/ Sourp
Asdvadzadzin – was built in 1395, close to the ‘Old Street’ (Podul
Vechi) – the town’s main commercial street. It was damaged in 1551 and
rebuilt or repaired many times. Its overall style dates from the 17th
century. It was at the beginning of this century that the church was
used for about 20 years (1607 – 1624) as a residence of Armenian
bishops in Moldavia (later on they moved back to Suceava). The last
thorough renovation dates from 1803. A second Armenian church,
dedicated to St Gregory the Enlightener, was built in 1616 in
Shoemakers’ Street (Ulita Cizmariei) and extended in the 18th century.
It was destroyed in the great fire of 1827 and the ruins were finally
demolished in 1899. A chapel in the new Armenian graveyard was built in
1881. An Armenian school existed in 1646; it was reopened in 1803.

A separate Armenian guild is mentioned in Iasi. Armenians also
dominated or formed a significant part of other guilds: the blanket
makers’ guild, the shoemakers’ guild, the goldsmiths’ guild. There were
also Armenian bankers and innkeepers – such as the owners of the famous
Missir inn.

The main center of Armenians in Moldavia was Suceava. It already had
an Armenian church in 1388 and during the following centuries Armenians
built at least seven churches in the town (twelve, according to some
researchers). Four of them still exist. Since 1401, Suceava was the
residence of the Armenian bishops. In 1506, bishop Simon became the
first autonomous bishop. The see remained vacant starting from 1691.
During 1790-1808, 1826-1839, 1841-1843, 1849-1920, the Armenian
Patriarchy of Constantinople sent clerics to act as chiefs of the
diocese.

The monastery of St Oxen is
first mentioned in 1415 as the residence
of the bishop Avedik. The main church (dedicated to St Oxen) was
rebuilt (and painted – parts of the fresco can still be seen today)
around the middle of the 16th century, and perhaps renovated in 1606 by
a rich Armenian called Agopsa, who is buried inside the church. The
belltower with the chapel of St Gregory the Enlightener was built in
1606 by Krikor who, according to the tradition, may have been Agopsa’s
brother. The neighbouring house with the chapel of St Mary dates
perhaps from the 15th century. The monastery was the main residence of
the Armenian bishops in Moldavia. It also had its own school and its
carpet manufacture. During the war of 1690-1691, the Polish army of
king Jan Sobieski occupied the monastery and stengthened its walls. It
was perhaps at this time that it got the name of Zamca (locals still
call it the ‘Armenian fortress’). In 1809 the monastery was taken over
by the Austrian state and used as an ammunition store. The Armenian
community got it back – after lengthy trials – in 1829.

Suceava.
The Armenian priest's house near the church of the Holy Cross.

The second Armenian monastery in Suceava, Hagigadar, was built in
1512 by the brothers Dragan and Bogdan Donavachian, two local Armenian
merchants, after a vision of St Mary. The church, perched on a small
hill outside the town, soon became famous for its reputed miraculous
powers and is still a popular place for pilgrimage. It is built in the
Moldavian style of early 16th century. It has a bell unearthed in the
old Armenian graveyard which – according to its inscription – was made
in 1244 for the monastery of Tatev in Armenia. Inside the church there
are altars donated by the Goilav and Capri families in the 18th
century. The painting dates from the late 19th century.

The church of St Simon was built by an Armenian called Donig
in 1513
and renovated in 1606 by a certain Simon. Its courtyard is actually the
old Armenians graveyard. The church is also called the Red Tower (Turnu
Rosu) because of its 17th century red brick tower.

The church of the Holy Cross – today the main Armenian parish
church
in Suceava – was built in 1521 by Cristea Hanco on the place of an
older church mentioned around 1504. In 1776 the church was added a
chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist, the donation of Mariam and
Hovhannes Capri. In the new graveyard baron Varteres von Pruncul built
in 1902 a chapel in traditional Armenian style.

St
Simon's Church in Suceava

The other Armenian churches of Suceava disappeared at various times
in the past. The church of St Mary existed before 1512 close to the
church of the Holy Cross. The church of the Holy Trinity was demolished
at the end of the 18th century; its remains were used to build the
porch of the church of the Holy Cross. The church of St Nicholas is
mentioned in 1830.

Suceava was an important trading center, and for a long time was
also the capital of Moldavia. Even after the capital was moved to Iasi
in 1564 Suceava kept its central place in the Armenian community in
Moldavia. Armenians remained loyal to the town even during the period
of the town’s decay in the 18th and 19th centuries. Old documents
repeatedly mention Armenians making up around 20% of the town’s
population. The heart of the Armenian community was around the churches
of Holy Cross, St Simon and Zamca. Just like Botosani, and perhaps like
Roman, Suceava also had two mayors – one of them Armenian.

Siret – the old Moldavian capital – had two Armenian churches
in
1507; they were damaged in 1551 and have since disappeared. The
Armenian church in Gura Humorului was built in 1849 and given to the
Romanian Orthodox church in 1934, due to the lack of Armenians in the
area.

The first Armenians came to Cernauti in 1418 and transformed
the
village into a small commercial town. They were given special
privileges by Stephen Tomsa II in 1614. In 1740, when the two Armenian
churches were destroyed by fire, Armenians formed half of the town’s
population.

Armenians were among the first inhabitants of the town of Roman,
established in the 14th century. In 1355, local Armenians purchased a
wooden church built in 1341 by the local Saxons. The church – or
perhaps one of its successors – was damaged in 1551. The stone church
dedicated to St Mary was built in 1609 by Agopsa. It was renovated
towards the end of the 17th century and again in 1864 by Teodoros
Soghomonian and Doing Simeon Pipian (the latter was the first Armenian
in the Romanian parliament). The style of the church is similar to that
of the church in Iasi. Roman has traditionally been an important
economic and cultural center for Armenians in Moldavia.

The church in Cetatea Alba was built perhaps in the early 14th
century. Foreign travellers mention it in the 15th century, sometimes
as the residence of Armenian bishops. Its small size, its simple stile
as well as the position of its floor – below the current ground level –
suggest that the current building is quite old. After the Turkish
conquest, local Armenians were deported to Constantinople, but
throughout the period of Ottoman rule the town had an Armenian
community.

The
Armenian church in Roman (1341; 1609)

The town of Chilia had an Armenian community at the beginning of the
Middle Ages. In 1768 the German geographer Kleeman mentions two
Armenian churches in Chilia (they no longer exist).

Armenians were colonized in Vaslui in the 15th century. Armenian
churches are mentioned in 1526 and 1608. Both the Armenian community
and the Armenian church disappeared in the Middle Ages.

The Armenian church in Hotin was built in 1480. It was destroyed in
1551 and rebuilt in 1645. The town and the fortress were occupied by
the Turks in 1713 and the Armenian community disappeared.

The town of Ismail, on the Danube, had an Armenian church dedicated
to St Mary in 1669. The same writer, Luigi Maria Pidou, mentions an
Armenian church in Tighina. Both (fortified) towns were under Turkish
rule at the time.

Soroca also had an Armenian church in the 17th century. In
1787
Charles de Peysonnel mentions an Armenian church in Causani.

Several Armenian churches were also built in Targu-Ocna. The church
of St Mary was built in 1825, replacing an 18th century wooden church.
There was another chapel in 1600. The church of St Nicholas was built
in 1580, was rebuilt in 1775 and was given to the local Romanians in
1845. At the beginning of the 13th century there also was a wooden
Armenian church in Targu Trotus., which was replaced in 1333 by a
wooden one; only its ruins survive today. In the nearby village of
Caiuti there used to be an Armenian catholic church.

The
altar of the Armenian church in Targu-Ocna.

In Galati there was a wooden Armenian church in 1669; the town also
had an Armenian bishop at the time. The church was burned by the Turks
in 1821 and rebuilt a year later. The current church – dedicated to St
Mary – was built in 1858. The Armenian community in the town increased
during the 17th century, during the 19th century – when the town
developed as a result of its status of a free port – and again after
the genocide of 1915. The St Mary church in Braila was built in 1837.

The Armenian community in Focsani is also one of the more recent
ones. On the Wallachian side, the church of St George was built between
1700 and 1715. On the Moldavian side, the church of St Mary was built
in 1780; it has old and interesting tombstones. The chapel in the
graveyard, dedicated to the Resurrection and built in 1891, is the
donation of the brothers Harutiun and Garabet Popovici. There also used
to be Armenian churches in Barlad, Cotnari, Dorohoi, Husi, Tecuci,
Negostina (near Suceava; the church of St Nicholas, built in 1862).

St
Mary's church in Focsani

The first Armenian communities in Wallachia are mentioned at the
beginning of the 15th century. There may have been an Armenian church
in the old capital of Targoviste. We know that a church was built there
in 1740 and was later destroyed.

In 1581 there was an Armenian
church in Bucharest. In 1629 Catholic
and Apostolic Armenians built the church of Baratia (Brotherhood) close
to the center of the town, in the Armenian Quarter. Baratia became an
exclusively Catholic church in 1638 and the Apostolic Armenians built
their own wooden church on the edge of the city, in what was to become
known as the Armenian Street (first mentioned in 1772). This church was
replaced by another one made of stone in 1685 by Hagi Hariton Amira
Hoveantz. The church burned in 1781 and was rebuilt the following year.
It is quite likely that there was more then one (Apostolic) Armenian
church in Bucharest; we have mentions of a second church at the
beginning of the 19th century. The existence of an Armenian guild in
Bucharest is confirmed by charters issued by princes Alexander
Ipsilanti (1775) and Michael Sutu (1791). The list of Wallachian guilds
in 1820 also includes the Armenian guild. In 1821 there were 187
Romanian registered masters in Bucharest – and 37 Armenian ones. The
leader of the bakers’ guild was the famous Armenian Babik. There also
were several famous Armenian-owned inns in Bucharest: Manuc’s Inn, one
of the main landmarks of the city, the Campineanu Inn, owned by
brothers Petre and Ioan Serafim (1832 – 1846), Slaison the Armenian’s
Inn (beginning of the 19th century), Simon’s Inn (1870 – 1889), Grigore
Caracas’s Inn (1870 – 1880).

The
Baratia/Brotherhood church in Bucharest

The Armenian church in Pitesti was built in 1693, rebuilt in 1852
and renovated in 1882. It is dedicated to St John the Baptist. There
also were Armenian communities in Craiova, Giurgiu, Ramnicu Valcea,
Curtea de Arges, Turnu Severin, Buzau, Ploiesti, but they did not have
their own churches.

In the province of Dobrogea/Dobrudja (under Turkish rule since 1420)
there also were Armenian communities and churches. There was an
Armenian community in Babadag around 1500, and a church is mentioned in
1649. In 1803 there were 40 Armenian houses in Babadag, and a church
dedicated to the Holy Cross, which burned in 1823, was rebuilt in 1829,
burned again in 1891 and rebuilt in 1896 as the Church of St Mary. The
church was destroyed by the earthquake of 1940. Around the middle of
the 18th century an Armenian church was built in Sulina; it was
destroyed by bombs during the second world war. In Constanta there was
an Armenian church prior to 1760 – as well as an old Armenian
graveyard. About a fifth of the houses in the (then very small) town of
Constanta in 1878 (when the region returned to Romanian administration)
were Armenian. In southern Dobrogea there were Armenian communities,
churches and schools in Silistra and Bazargic/Dobric.

Most Armenian churches in Romania are in local rather than Armenian
style. At the same time, however, Armenian architecture and decorative
arts enjoyed considerable influence in Romania. A French author claimed
in the 19th century that from an architectural point of view the region
of the Lower Danube was an Armenian colony. This assertion is obviously
exaggerated, but it is not entirely unfounded. There are many Romanian
churches where the Armenian influence is obvious. The churches of
Dealu, Dragomirna, Curtea de Arges of the church of the Three Hierarchs
are obvious examples. Quite interestingly, the famous legend of the
difficult and tragic building of Curtea de Arges monastery has an
Armenian counterpart – the legend of the Ashtarak bridge:
Armenian version: The bridge collapses every time its foundations are
built. The old men in the village are advised to sacrifice an orphan to
the river. A young girl is brought by her stepmother and closed in the
foundation. When the wall reaches her knees, the girl sings:
They walled, dear mother, they walled,
Up to my knee they stoned…
Then she sings:
They walled, dear mother, they walled,
Up to my breast they stoned…
(…) They walled, dear mother, they walled,
Up to my throat they stoned…
After that, her voice is no longer heard and the foundations stay firm.
Similar legends are associated with the bridges of Batman and Koter.

Romanian version: The Black Prince hires Manole and nine other
master craftsmen to build a church more beautiful than any other in the
land. They start building, but what is built during the day collapses
during the night. Manole has a strange dream and the builders decide to
close in the walls the first woman, mother, wife or sister that comes
to bring them food in the morning. The first to come is Manole’s wife,
Ana. Manole, maddened by grief, tells his wife this is only a game and
she is gradually incorporated in the walls:

The wall rose
And surrounded her,
Up to her ankles,
Up to her thighs.
And she, poor her,
Laughed no more,
And kept saying:
Manole, Manole,
Master Manole,
Stop this joke,
It is no good.
Manole, Manole,
Master Manole
The wall is crushing me,
It is breaking my body!

Manole kept silent,
And he kept building.
The wall was rising
And enclosing her
(…) Up to her ankles,
Up to her thighs,
Up to her ribs,
Up to her breast,
Up to her lips,
Up to her eyes.

The
Arges monastery (1517)

The church is finally completed and is the most magnificent in the
country. The prince orders the scaffoldings to be removed and the
builders are left on the roof, to prevent them from building anything
more beautiful. The masters make themselves wings and jump from the
roof. When jumping, Manole hears the faint voice of his wife, collapses
from the roof and dies.

It is interesting to note that Nicolae Iorga claimed that the
architecture of the church in Curtea de Arges is due to Armenians
coming from the town of Argesh near Lake Van. A similar legend is
associated with the church of the Three Hierarchs in Iasi – a church
with obvious Armenian influence in its architecture and exterior
decorations.

The relatively peaceful reign of Vasile Lupu (1634 – 1653) was a
period of prosperity for Armenians in Moldavia. In 1646 we have a
mention of Armenian schools in Iasi (capital of Moldavia since 1564).
This came to an end in 1650, however, because of a massive Cossack
invasion. The end of Vasile Lupu’s reign was marked by fighting and
repeated invasions.

In 1671, Armenians were among the supporters of the rebellion led by
the Hancu brothers against the tyranny and excessive taxes of prince
George (Gheorghe) Duca. The rebels were defeated (with Turkish help) in
the battle of Chisinau and their leaders were forced into exile.
According to some authors, the Hancu brothers themselves were of
Armenian origin.

In 1672 there was a massive Turkish invasion into Moldavia and
during the following years Moldavia (and to some extent Wallachia)
became a battleground in the wars between Poland and the Ottoman Empire
– with truly devastating effects for the principality. Fighting resumed
in 1683, when the Armenian monastery of Zamca was turned into a
fortress by the army of the Polish king Jan Sobieski. These unfortunate
events led to a large part of the Armenians in Moldavia leaving their
homes and taking refuge in Transylvania.

The movement of Armenians across the Carpathians had started earlier
– around the middle of the century. In 1654, a group of Moldavian
Armenians led by Mardiros Gandra and the Azbey brothers went to
Transylvania but – because of political troubles - they were forced to
move back and settled in Gheorgheni/Gyergyoszentmiklos. A manuscript
copied in 1647 in Targu-Mures (Marosvasarhely) proves the existence of
Armenians in the town.

In 1672, 3000 Armenians from Moldavia, led by their bishop, Minas
Zilihtar, fled to Transylvania. At the beginning the migration was
thought to be temporary, but eventually Armenians had to settle west of
the Carpathians. Prince Michael Apafi (Apafi Mihaly) allowed Armenians
to settle in Bistrita, Gheorgheni, Miercurea-Ciuc, Petelea, Sumuleu,
Alba-Iulia. A Charter issued by Apafi in 1680 gave Armenians autonomy,
the right to exercise freely their trade and crafts and to elect their
own judges. An important Armenian community settled initially in
Bistrita, where they built a church. Conflicts with the local Saxons
(who were afraid of Armenians competition) forced Armenians to leave
the town and find other places to settle.

Some of the Armenians who had taken refuge in Poland moved to
Transylvania in order to avoid conversion to Catholicism. It soon
became apparent that – despite Michael Apafi’s protection – they would
still have to convert even in the principality (which became part of
the Habsburg empire in 1699). The organizer of the new Armenian
Catholic community was Oxendius Varzarescu/Varzarian, an Armenian from
Botosani who had been educated in Rome between 1670 and 1684.
Varzarescu convinced bishop Minas to be converted to Catholicism by the
bishop of Lemberg, Vartan Hunanian. After Minas’s death in 1686,
Varzarescu became the next Armenian Catholic bishop in Transylvania. In
1669, John Kieremowicz became the nominal Armenian Catholic bishop of
Suceava, but local Armenians elected their own Apostolic bishop, Sahak.
Varzarescu’s first see was Gheorgheni, then he moved to Bistrita. Since
the Roman Catholic see in Transylvania had been vacant since 1566,
Varzarescu was also its leader until his death in 1715.

After Oxendius Varzarescu’s death, pressures from the Latin-rite
church, particularly the Jesuits, and divisions among Armenians in
Armenopolis and Elisabethopolis prevented the election of another
Armenian Catholic bishop.

The
Armenian Catholic cathedral in Armenopolis/Gherla (1776)

In 1700, Varzarescu and the
Transylvanian Armenians were awarded by
the Austrian emperor Leopold (in exchange of 25,000 florins) the right
to build their own town on the Somes river, near the Martinuzzi castle
and a small Romanian village. The first inhabitants were 70 Armenian
families coming from Bistrita. The town – to be known as Armenopolis
(the official name), Armenierstadt (in German), Szamosujvar (in
Hungarian) or Gherla (in Romanian) – was the first in the Austrian
empire to be built according to a general plan, designed by the
architect Alexanian from Rome. There were four perpendicular main
streets and the architecture and position of the houses, as well as
their prices and their owners’ social status were carefully regulated.
3000 Armenian families settled in the Armenopolis and for quite a long
time the town’s population was almost exclusively Armenian.

The other main Armenian center in Transylvania was Elisabethopolis
(Erzsebetvaros, Ebesfalva, Ibasfalau, Dumbraveni), a former estate of
the Apafi family, where Armenians had already settled by 1658. The
place had previously been inhabited by Romanian serfs and Hungarians;
there also was a Saxon community. Armenians also settled in Gheorgheni,
Frumoasa (Csikszepviz), Ditrau (Ditro) – all of them having Armenian
churches –, Cluj, Sibiu, Brasov, Oradea, Arad, Aiud, Bistrita, Alba
Iulia, Reghin, Abrud, Nasaud, Odorhei, Sfantu Gheorghe, Targu Secuiesc,
Deva, Carei, Joseni, Remetea, Lazarea, Toplita, Suseni, Gurghiu.

The
main Armenian Catholic church in Elisabethopol/Dumbraveni

Armenians had brought from Moldavia the tradition of their own
institutions. They were given special privileges in Transylvania and
enjoyed a large degree of autonomy. Armenians had their own courts, led
by their mayors, which followed the code of Mkhitar Gosh. By imperial
decree, it was forbidden to any stranger to enter Armenian towns
without a written pass issued by the mayor or the city council. An
Armenian Company was founded in order to connect the various Armenian
communities, in particular those in Armenopolis and Elisabethopolis.
Since 1689, the Company had its own judex helped by three assistants.
They had to look after of tax collection and the execution of princely
decrees. Later on these powers were transferred to the municipality of
Elisabethopolis, which was in charge of all Armenians in Transylvania
outside Armenopolis. The municipalities of Gheorgheni and Frumoasa –
subordinated to that of Elisabethopolis/Dumbraveni – were led by mayors
(biro). The powers of these mayors were gradually reduced and in 1757
the system was replaced by the hundreds, with their leaders acting as
intermediaries between the municipality and ordinary citizens.

The Armenians that had settled in Frumoasa in 1675 built a church in
1700. It is the oldest surviving Armenian Catholic church in Romania.
In Gheorgheni, Armenians came in 1672 and built the church of St Mary
in 1733 (a bell tower was added in 1734).

In Armenopolis, Armenians built a wooden church in 1675, before the
actual foundation of the town. Several other churches were built during
the following centuries. The church of the Annunciation (the Solomon
church) was built in 1724. The Trinity Cathedral was built between 1748
and 1776. Between 1885 and 1894 a chapel dedicated to St Gregory the
Enlightener was built beside the Armenian orphanage. Another chapel was
built in the graveyard. A school had been opened as early as 1670 and
several other schools would be organized over the next two centuries.

In Elisabethopol, the church of the Holy Trinity was built in 1723,
to replace an older, wooden church. The St Peter and Paul church was
built in 1796 by the Mkhitarian friars. The Armenian church of St John
the Baptist was given to the Lutheran community in 1920. The cathedral
of St Elizabeth was built in 1850. The first school was built in 1685;
a school for girls was inaugurated in 1746. The Mkhitarian friars from
Venice inaugurated a school where Armenian, Hungarian, German and Latin
were taught. Armenian schools were also organized in Oradea (1749),
Frumoasa (1797), Gheorgheni (1832) and Cluj.

Throughout the 18th century, Armenians in Transylvania played a
major role in the development of the local economy. Using their
traditional networks and skills, They acted as intermediaries between
the East and Western Europe. In their main towns, Armenians had their
own guilds. They were locksmiths, furriers, silversmiths and
goldsmiths, carpet makers, brewers, lace makers. The guilds also were
involved in building churches and schools and caring for the poor.
Armenians also organized some of the first manufactures in Transylvania
– one producing leather, in Armenopolis (a tradition that remained
famous well into the 20th century), and another producing candles, in
Elisabethopolis. Armenopolis and Elisabethopolis were declared ‘free
royal cities’ in 1726 and 1733, respectively.

General
view of Armenopolis/Gherla/Szamosujvar/Armenierstadt

The 18th century was not a very good one for Armenians in Moldavia
and Wallachia. The economic hardship generated by extremely high taxes
and frequent wars were compounded by the preference of Phanariote
princes for Greek traders. Some trade restrictions forced Armenians to
extend their activities as money lenders. Armenians were also not
admitted to the Academies in Iasi and Bucharest (where Theology was one
of the main subjects). In order to protect themselves in extremely
volatile political circumstances, some Armenians tried to get
additional guarantees by adopting Russian or Austrian citizenship.
Still, princes tried to preserve the privileges previously granted to
Armenians. For instance, Constantin Mavrocordat, in 1742, and Alexandru
Mavrocordat, in 1784, issued charters containing tax reductions and
rules aimed at protecting Armenian merchants (for instance against
excessive fees for cattle grazing). In 1737, Grigore Ghica warned his
representative in Cernauti against persecuting Armenian merchants
coming from Poland.

In 1775, Austrians occupied the north-western corner of Moldavia,
including the towns of Suceava, Cernauti and Siret, which they named
Bukowina (Bucovina in Romanian). There were about 2,000 Armenians in
the area, about 2% of the total population. They were thus to some
extent separated from the rest of Armenians in Moldavia, but family and
economic ties continued and Romanian was kept as the second language.
The Armenian language and the Apostolic denomination were carefully
preserved. A few Galician, Catholic and Polish-speaking Armenians came
to Bucovina under the Austrian rule. The Armenian Catholic Church in
Cernauti was built between 1870 and 1875 (today it is used as a concert
hall).

Although they were not Catholic, Armenians in Bucovina were to some
extent favoured by the Austrians, who did not like Jewish merchants.
Emperor Joseph II decreed that administrators must ‘abandon all further
investigations about their religion, and leave them alone in their
business and their way of life; one must seek to bring hither more
people like them.’ (quotation from E. C. Suttner – ‘Armenians and Other
Religious Minorities in the Habsburg Empire’). In 1786, Suceava was
declared a free commercial town. Besides the ‘right of public worship’,
the Armenian parish in Suceava had the right to keep registers that
were recognized by the state. The churches, chapels, school, two
priests and teachers preserved their former functions. In 1802 there
were 205 Armenian families in Suceava, with 965 members. In 1820 there
were 200 Armenian houses in Suceava. In 1825 there were 250 families,
530 in 1857 and 300 (1200 persons) in 1890. There were 30 Armenian
houses in Cernauti and 10 Armenian houses in Siret. In 1909, there were
57 Armenian families in Cernauti, 15 families in Gura Humorului, 6
families in Radauti and two in Vatra Dornei.

About one quarter of Armenians in Bucovina were landowners, owning
according to an estimate as much as one third of the land in the
region. The main landowner families were Capri, Prunculian,
Aritonovici, Asachievici, Bogdanovici, Stefanovici, Aivas,
Zaharasievici, Zadurovici. The archaeological collection of the baron
von Kapri in Iacobesti and the library of Popovici family in Vatra
Dornei are proofs of the intellectual quality of these families. The
activity of Armenian traders lost some of its importance due to the
new, stricter borders, restrictions on trade and Jewish competition.
Armenian craftsmen produced soap, candles, foods and spirits, leather
objects, medicine and jewels.

The Armenian community in Bucovina was granted a special statute
that preserved its autonomy. It had a Great Assembly of 12 members that
sat every year and a Trust Council of 7 members. Since the see in
Suceava was vacant, the Patriarchy in Constantinople was in charge of
the local Armenians. A new statute adopted in 1872 granted membership
of the officially recognized parish in Suceava to Armenians outside
Bucovina, a measure aimed at easing the practice of the traditional
Armenian trade. The Armenian General Benevolent Union was also
represented in Cernauti. The Armenian school in Suceava was opened in
1824 in which ‘apart from the usual subjects in primary schools in the
Armenian language, there [is to be] also a teacher to give instruction
in the German and Romanian languages and Armenian Church music is also
to be cultivated.’ (quotation from E. C. Suttner – ‘Armenians and Other
Religious Minorities in the Habsburg Empire’). In 1879 the Catholic
‘Isahakian’School was opened in Cernauti. It was aimed at orphans from
from Bucovina, Bessarabia and Galicia.

Many of the Armenians in Bucovina were rich and cultivated. Some of
them – such as the members of the Capri and Pruncul families – became
Austrian nobles. The first mayor of Cernauti, Petrovici, was Armenian.
Other Armenians were members of the Austrian Parliament.

At the end of the 18th century, the war between Russia and Turkey led
(in 1789) to the migration of Armenians from Cetatea Alba to Tighina
and later on to Dubasari, on the Nistru/Dnestr river. They then settled
in the town of Grigoriopol, founded in 1792 by Joseph Argutian, the
bishop of Armenians in Russia. In Grigoriopol, Armenians built three
churches, dedicated to St Catherine (an homage to the empress Catherine
the Great), the Holy Cross and St Gregory the Enlightener. The town was
given special privileges by Catherine the Great and Paul I, and
attracted Armenians from Ismail, Chilia, Tighina and Causani. Most of
the privileges never actually materialized, and the bulk of the
Armenian community in Grigoriopol moved to Chisinau during the first
half of the 19th century.

In
1812 the eastern part of Moldavia was annexed by the Russian Empire and
given the name of Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian). The territory had
over 2,000 Armenians. An Armenian born in Bulgaria, in Ruschuk/Ruse,
Manuc Bey Mirzaian, played an important an controversial role in the
peace negotiations in Bucharest. Accused of treason by the Turks, he
fled to Bessarabia and settled in Hancesti, where he built a castle.
His plans to build a new town close to Reni, on the Danube, with a
special place for Armenians, were never put into practice; Manuc died
unexpectedly in 1817 and was buried in the Armenian church in Chisinau.

In
the new capital of Bessarabia, Chisinau, Armenians had settled as early
as the 17th century. There was an Armenian street in the old commercial
center of the town. Armenians also had their own church, dedicated to
St Mary and built in 1804, on a site between the Turkish street and
Constantin Street. The church may have been built on the ruins of the
Romanian church of St Nicholas, built in 1645 and destroyed by Tartar
invasions in the 18th century. Armenians may have purchased the ruins
and built their own church.

An Armenian
archbishopric was established in Chisinau. It also included
Armenians from a large part of the Russian Empire, including Nor
Nakhichevan, Moscow and St Petersburg.
Armenians received a large piece of land in the new, upper part of the
town,
which came to be known as the “Armenian courtyard”. It served as the
bishop’s
residence and a community center; part of the land and houses was also
rented.The income was used – during the
second part
of te 19th century – to support the GuevorguianAcademy in
Echmiadzin. In 1858, according to official numbers, there were 2275
Armenians
in Bessarabia,
1100 of which lived in Chisinau.

The
Armenian church in Chisinau (1804)

While some of the Bessarabian Armenians moved to the remaining part of
the Moldavian principality, new Armenians settled in Bessarabia, and their number increased
to some limited extent over the 19th century. The presence
of
Armenian bishops was an important factor (towards the end of the
century,
however, the see remained vacant for long intervals). Josep Argutian
was named
Catholicos but died on the way to Ecmiadzin in 1801. The next bishop
was Grigor
Zaharian born in Cetatea Alba, who played an active part in the fight
for in
influence in Echmiadzin and died in 1827. He was followed by the most
famous of
all Chisinau bishops, the future Catolicos Nerses Ashtaraketsi. The
next ead of
the Armenian church in the area was Gabriel Aivazovski, who played an
important
role in the establishment of te HalibianCollege in
Kaffa/Feodosia in Crimea, that became an important centre for the
education of young Armenians
from neighbouring regions, including Moldavia and
Wallacia. Between 1878 and 1885 the archbishop of Chisinau was the
future
Catholicos Macar I Ter-Petrosian. New churches were built in Orhei (St
Mary, around
1830 renovated in 1903), Balti (St Gregory the Enlightener, 1913, due
to
Dimitrie-Mgrdich Lusahanian/Lusavanovici), Hancesti (St Mary, built by
Manuc
Bey, rebuilt in 1871, destroyed in 1941). Catholic Armenians had their
own
church in Hotin. There also were several Armenian schools in Bessarabia, for instance those in
Chisinau and Cetatea Alba. Armenians were lawyers, doctors, landowners,
merchants. The best inn, actually a Swiss-style hotel, belonged to the
Muraciov
(Muradian) family. After a long and brilliant history, it was destroyed
in
1940. Among the most important families in Bessarabia were the Deleanovs (Delanian),
the Ohanovs (Ohanian), the Lebedevs, the
Anush, the Muratovs (Muratian), the Muraciovs (Muradian), the
Lusahanovs and the
Ianusievicis.

The beginning of the 19th century was a period of cultural and
economic revival for Armenians in Moldavia and Wallachia. In Moldavia
Armenian schools were opened in Iasi (1803, near the newly renovated
church of St Mary), Suceava (1823), Roman (1841), Botosani (1843),
Focsani (1847, school for girls in 1860), Galati, Bacau, Targu-Ocna. In
1841, Armenian schools were included in the Moldavian public education
system and Armenians were allowed to attend the developing Moldavian
system of higher education. Cristea Karacas founded in Iasi a private
college that would soon become the town’s leading private school. In
Bucharest, the Armenian school was (re)opened in 1800, and reorganized
in 1817 due to the donations of Manuc Bey Mirzaian. A new building was
inaugurated in 1847; it was financed by Varteres Amira Misakian, an
Armenian born in Constantinople. The Armenian population – especially
that in Wallachia – was increased due to the immigration of Armenians
from Bulgaria and other regions on the Ottoman empire at the end of the
18th century and the beginning of the 19th century

The former Armenian school in Iasi

.

The Armenian churches in Moldavia and Wallachia were under the
supervision of clerics nominated by the Armenian Patriarchy o
Constantinople and local councils. The development of Moldavian towns –
and their Armenian communities – led to the building of Armenian
churches in Herta (taken over by Romanians in 1814) and Bacau (St
Michael and Gabriel in Armenian Street, 1848-1858, demolished by the
Communist authorities in 1977).
Armenian books were also printed in Iasi in Gheorghe Asachi’s workshop.
An act adopted before the union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859
proclaimed the equal rights of all Christian subjects in the
principalities. Armenian guilds and professional and cultural
associations (such as those in Iasi, Suceava, Bacau, Roman) played an
important role in the life of the community. They contributed to the
preservation of Armenian heritage. For instance, the Young Armenians’
guild in several Moldavian towns set rules and obligations for the
young members of the community. For instance, they were obliged to
visit all Armenian houses and sing carols for Christmas every year;
those who did not attend had to pay a fine. Quite obviously, they also
had to attend local Armenian schools. The “Azkasirats” (Patriots’)
Society was founded in Iasi in 1868. It had branches in Botosani,
Bacau, Roman, Targu Frumos, Tecuci. There were also several Armenian
associations in Bucharest: “Ser hanun Isusi” (1833), “Hayrenasirats
ingerutyun” (1837), “Ararat” (1838), “Usumnasirats ingerutyun Ararat”
(1843), “Usumnasirats ingerutyun” (1871), “Armenia” (1879), “Ararat”
(1886), “Arax” (1901), “Arevdragan ingerutyun” (1903), the amateur
theatre “Sokhag” (1911), “Mangaser dignants miutyun” (1912), the
Armenian Red Cross (1920), the Young Armenians’ Assocation (1920), the
“Ararat” Library (1921).

The
inn built by Manuc Mirzaian (1808), one of Bucharest's most
famous buildings

Armenians also played an active and at times impressive role in the
economic and cultural development of the principalities. Several
wealthy and cultured Armenian families, such as Buiucliu, Goilav,
Missir, Pruncu, Aburel, Manea, Burdea, Ciuntu, Ciomac, Kessim,
Samurcas, Trancu, Socor, Mortun, Taranu, Ursu, Gaina, Sava, Cerchez,
Negruzzi provided several generations of local notables, supporters and
producers of Romanian culture, members of parliament, mayors, army
officers. Gheorghe Asachi, a founder of the Romanian educational system
in Moldavia and a great contributor to many cultural developments,
Vasile Conta, the atheist philosopher son of an Armenian priest, Spiru
Haret, the best Romanian education minister and the first Romanian to
get a PhD in Mathematics, Garabet Ibraileanu, the leader of the “Viata
Romaneasca” literary group and one of the greatest Romanian literary
critics, the architect Cristofi Cerchez, the musicians Carol Miculi and
Mihail Jora, the painter Theodor Aman are among the most important
personalities in Romanian culture in the 19th century.

The second half of the 19th
century was not as good for the
preservation of Armenian identity in Moldavia and Wallachia as it may
have been expected from earlier developments. The northern part of
Moldavia, the old core of the Armenian community of Romania, lost
ground in economic terms and Armenian communities in the area entered a
period of slow, gentle decay. In 1850 the Armenian school had two
priests; by the end of the century it only had one. The second Armenian
church, St Gregory the Enlightener, was destroyed during the great fire
of 1827. Plans to rebuild it and to build a school for girls beside it
were eventually abandoned and the ruins were demolished in 1899. The
development of the Romanian public education system led to the decrease
in the number of pupils in Armenian schools. The Armenian school in
Bucharest was closed in 1899. Knowledge of the Armenian language
gradually decreased and the old local Armenian dialect slowly died out.
For a while, some Armenians send to each other letters in Romanian
written in Armenian alphabet.

The
Melik House (1752) in Bucharest

In Transylvania, the 19th
century was less favourable for Armenians
than the 18th century. Armenians gradually lost the privileges that had
protected their communities. In 1801, Armenians were forbidden to use
their language in their language; quite soon, they were also forbidden
to keep their accounts in Armenian. In Elisabethopolis, Armenian was
replaced by Hungarian and Latin in the local public school in 1811;
only the Mkhitarist school preserved Armenian as a language for
teaching. In Armenopolis, an Armenian elementary school was reopened in
1860 and was closed down around 1890; a primary school existed between
the First World War and 1940. The economic situation also changed in
Transylvania, which – around the middle of the century – was somehow
left behind the industrialization process. The peace treaty of
Adrianople and the lifting of the Turkish monopoly over Moldavian and
Wallachian trade moved the commercial centre of the region towards
Bucharest. Armenian merchants were confronted with the competition of
Greek, Aromanian/Vlach and later on local Romanian tradesmen. Many
young Armenians had to leave their native towns and look for jobs in
other places; their Catholic faith made assimilation easier.
Non-Armenians were allowed to settle in the previously ‘closed’ towns.

Houses
in Armenopolis/Gherla

Armenians in Armenopolis/Gherla had been given a precious painting
by Rubens as a prize for their financial assistance to the Austrian
Crown in difficult times. By the revolution of 1848, relations between
Armenians and the Austrian authorities had already deteriorated to some
extent. In 1848, the Hungarian revolutionary government appointed
George Simaian as the man in charge of ethnic minorities in
Transylvania. Stepan Korove (Koroveian) was one of the authors of the
Hungarian declaration of independence. Kiss Erno and Lazar Vilmos were
executed for their role in the revolution and became Hungarian national
heroes, while General Czecz Janos died in exile in Argentina. The town
of Elisabethopolis was severely damaged during the fighting between
imperial and revolutionary armies, and Armenopolis was made to pay a
huge fine. The economy of the two towns never quite recovered after
these events. Armenians in Transylvania became gradually Magyarized, as
the strong traditional factors represented by extended family
structures, Armenian schools and guilds gradually weakened. Among the
main Armenian personalities of the century one can mention Lukacsi
Kristof, the headmaster of the high school in Armenopolis and the
author of the History of Armenians in Transylvania, Grigor Covriguian,
the abbot of the monastery of San Lazzaro in Venice, Czecz Anton and
Volf Gabriel, famous botanists, the painter Hollosy Simon.

Towards the end of the century Armenians in Transylvania – mainly
those in Armenopolis – tried to revive their traditions. An Armenian
Museum and an Armenian journal (“Armenia”, in Hungarian) were founded.
Most of this initial energy did not however outlive the death of the
main artisan of the Armenian revival, Szongott Kristof (Khachik
Asdvadzadurian). (1843 – 1907).

The
Karacsonyi house in Armenopolis/Gherla

The massacres of 1895 and the genocide of 1915 brought new waves of
Armenian refugees to Romania. In 1915, Romania was the first country to
officially offer asylum to Armenian refugees. It was also one of the 15
countries that accepted Nansen passports. After 1916, when Romania
joined the Entente, many of newly arrived Armenians served as
volunteers in the Romanian army, although they were not yet Romanian
citizens. The Armenian community set up an orphanage in Strunga aimed
at saving children who had lost their parents during the genocide.

The bulk of the ‘new Armenians’
settled in Bucharest and Constanta,
although some of them spread to other towns in Romania. They revived
Armenian community life, churches and schools. The new Armenian church
in Bucharest, in traditional Armenian style (based on the Cathedral in
Echmiadzin), was inaugurated in 1915. The Armenian school in Bucharest
was reopened due to the donation of Mrs Kesimian (hence the name of the
“Misakian-Kesimian School”). Around 1900, it had 250 pupils; in 1932
there were 405.

The
Armenian Cathedral in Bucharest (1911-1915, the original church was
from the 17th century). It is based on the model of the Cathedral in
Echmiadzin.

In 1918, the provinces of Bessarabia, Bucovina, Transylvania and
Banat were united to Romania. The representative of Armenians in the
Bessarabian assembly, Petre Bajbeu-Melikov, mayor of Orhei, supported
the union. Another representative of Bessarabian Armenians, the lawyer
Andrei Barhudarov, took part in the Armenian assembly in Kiev that
stated its support for the independence of the Armenian Republic.
Armenians in Bessarabia set up the National Committee of Armenians in
Bessarabia (NaCoBa), which administered the Armenian patrimony,
churches and schools, and prepared Armenian students for the Romanian
curriculum.

The Armenian bishop in Chisinau, Husig Zohrabian, moved to Bucharest
in 1920 as head of the reorganized Archbishopric of Armenians in
Romania. One of his successors, Vasken Balgian, would become Catholicos
in 1955. The Armenian Catholic Church was given a new and improved
statute, with 5 parishes and 36,000 faithful. A nw Armenian Catholic
chapel was built in Bucharest in 1933. Due to a misintepretation of the
Romanian land reform, the “Armenian courtyard” in Chisinau was taken
from the Armenian community. Its fate would remain uncertain through a
long series of trials until 1940.

The 20th century was also rich in Armenian personalities in Romania.
A complete list is impossible, and a full one is impossible. Here are
some examples: the first Labour Minister, Grigore Trancu-Iasi, his
sister, the first Romanian woman-surgeon, Marta Trancu-Rainer, the
founder of the surgery school in Cluj and the rector of the local
university, Iacob Iacobovici, the founder of gerontology, Ana Aslan,
the founder of the Romanian allergology school, Ervant Sevropian, the
art collectors Krikor Zambaccian, Hrandt Avakian and Garabet Avakian,
the great historian Hagop Djololian Siruni, Haig Acterian, Ion
Sahighian, Ion Sava, all personalities of Romania theatre, the famous
opera singers David Ohanesian and Garbis Zobian, the painter Nutzi
Acontz, the sculptor Ioana Kasargian, the publicist Vartan Mestugian,
the Armenian Catholic scholar Magardici Bodurian, the writers Stefan
Agopian and Bedros Horasangian, the businessmen Armenac Manissalian,
Vartbaronian, Frenkian, Israelian, Danielian.

The
Armenian Library and Museum in Bucharest (Dudian House)

By 1940 there were about 40,000
Armenians in Romania. It was a
rather heterogeneous, but very much alive community, with a long
history and a rich heritage. The Second World War brought a new,
communist regime to Romania. In 1945 some Armenians from Romania moved
to Soviet Armenia. Armenian communities were seriously weakened by the
elimination of private businesses in Romania, which deprived them of
their traditional economic autonomy. A “Democratic Committee” was set
up for each ethnic minority in Romania, Armenians included (the
Armenian one actually lasted longer than the other ones, due to its
role in the … distribution of the Soviet press…) Some of the wealthiest
Armenians became targets of the new political regime.

The
Zambaccian Museum in Bucharest

The gloomy
political and economic environment led to mass migration; by the 1980s
there were perhaps more “Romanian” Armenians in the US than in Romania.
The number of mixed marriages also increased. Around 1980, there were 3
baptisms and over 20 Armenian burials per year in Bucharest. In 1964,
the last Armenian schools, those in Bucharest and Constanta, fell
victim to a “nationalist” bout of the local communist regime. Armenian
language classes continued in an informal manner, with the support of
the Armenian church.

The
Avakian museum (Bucharest)

The regime change in 1989 brought a change in the institutional
environment. The Union of Armenians in Romania has a representative in
the Romanian parliament (provided it gets more than 3500 votes;
election results: 1992: 7200 votes, 1996: 11,000, 2000: 21,000).
Between 1996 and 2000 there were actually two Armenian MPs in the
Romanian parliament. There are two Armenian publications: “Ararat” (in
Romanian) and “Nor Ghiank” (in Armenian), both subsidized by the
government. The Armenian library and cultural centre in Bucharest was
reopened; so were the Armenian schools in Bucharest and Constanta.
Armenian language courses were also organized in Cluj and Pitesti. The
Armenian community had its own (quite active) publishing house. Main
community events include the pilgrimage to the monastery of Hagigadar,
the celebration of St Gregory the Illuminator in Gherla/Armenopolis and
St James in Botosani.

In spite of this favourable external environment, the situation of
the Armenian community in Romania remains dire and its future
uncertain. There are indeed very few Armenians left in Romania, and the
knowledge of Armenian is extremely limited (fewer than 1000 native
speakers). Many of the younger Armenians actually come from mixed
marriages. The not-so-brilliant economic situation of the country has
failed to attract an influx of ‘new’ Armenians – as it happened in
Poland or Hungary. Some of the Armenian communities, such as the
600-year old community in Roman, are almost extinct. The situation of
the Armenian monuments in Romania is also critical – a few examples are
the St Mary church in Iasi, the churches in Botosani, the St Simon
church in Suceava…